Title: The Green Mile
Author: Wereleopard
Email: NC-17
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Challenge: The Green Mile
Summary: Lex meets a prisoner on death row that changes his outlook and his life
A/N: Thanks to Krista for beta’ing this
Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Smallville, Stephen King or Batman. I can dream but it ain’t going to happen. I am not making any money from this, it is just for fun.

Chapter One

An eerie silence hung heavily in the air as the men slowly walked through the overgrown field, rifles resting on their shoulders. Their eyes darted about waiting for an attack, even though they were the hunters.

A piece of material, obviously from a young girl’s nightdress, flapped in the wind unable to break free from the twig where it was attached. A shaking hand pulled it off, hot tears filling the man’s eyes. It belonged to one of his daughters. Shouting out to the other men, they all began to move faster, knowing they were on the right track, hoping to get there to find his children, his girls safe.

Dogs barked mournfully in the background but all he could here was his own breathing, the pounding of his own heart. He screamed out as loud as he could, fear coursing through his veins.

“Katie, Cora?”

XXXXX

The two young girls huddled in fear. A voice whispered over them, something that had been said before.

“You love your sister? You make any noise, you know what happens,” the silken voice washed over them filling them with terror.

XXXXX

Silver-grey eyes suddenly opened, his chest heaving. Slowly reality and sound came back to him, the mumble of the conversations in the hallway as they passed his door.

Lex knew that he would never get back to sleep; he never did when he has this particular nightmare. It was one he would never forget no matter how much he tried.

He washed just like normal, his hands rubbing across his bare skull, it had been a very long time since he had hair, in fact he had been like this since he was 9 years old.

Once he was dressed, Lex walked out into the hallway of the retirement home. Walkers and wheelchairs were strewn about everywhere. He barely noticed them because there was something he needed to do; the same thing he does everyday.

Lex smiled and chatted briefly to everyone, but as always there was determination in his eyes. If you just stared at them in the right way, he could have been a man eighty years younger.

“Good morning Mr Luthor, a Danish this morning?” Jason asked as normal.

“No, just two pieces of dry toast, Jason. Thanks. Leftovers fine.”

“Dry and cold, same as always.”

“Cold is better.” Lex said with a smile.

“Especially on those long walks? Don’t let Doctor Godzilla catch you, Sorry I mean Doctor Bryce. She’ll raise holy hell. We don’t want you to have an accident so we have to send out a search party.”

Lex smiled at the new nurse, Jason Teague, he came across as a good guy. Lex walked away, sneaking out a door that headed to the side of the kitchen. Once there, he quickly turned the corner, grabbed a red raincoat and snuck out the back door with the two pieces of leftover, cold toast wrapped securely in a napkin in his pocket.

It took him a while to get where he was going, using one half of the piece of toast to keep up his strength until he reached his finally destination, an nondescript old building.

XXXXX

A while later, Lex had managed to sneak back in without anyone seeing him and was now sitting with everyone else watching television.

Pete Ross stared at the television for a moment longer, his hands resting on his cane. “Why do we always watch this stuff?”

“It’s interesting.” Alicia told him, glancing quickly at him before her gaze went back to the television.

Pete looked at her in amazement - it was Jerry Springer. “Interesting? Bunch of inbred trailer trash? All they ever talk about is fucking.”

Pete ignored all the gasps around him as he slowly made his way to the television flicking through the channels until he found one he liked. Fred and Ginger.

“Are you alright Lex?” Chloe asked the man who had become one of her best friends.

“I’m fine, I promise.” He told her sincerely.

“It’s those walks, they are wearing you out.” She scolded him, annoyed that she couldn’t find out where he went and what he was doing. That was one thing that had annoyed people about her; Chloe didn’t like not knowing what was going on with everything especially her friends.

“I just had a nightmare last night that was all. We all have them.” Lex smiled softly but soon tears filled his eyes as he heard Fred and Ginger singing, they were dancing cheek to cheek.

Heaven
I’m in heaven
And my heart beats so
That I can hardly speak
And I seem to find
The happiness I seek
When we’re out together
Dancing cheek to cheek.
Heaven
I’m in heaven
And the cares that hung around me
Through the week
Seem to vanish
Like a gambler’s lucky streak
When we’re off together dancing cheek to cheek

The elderly bald man couldn’t take it any longer; the tears fell from his eyes as the memories flooded him. He was suffocating and needed to get out; ignoring all the stares he rushed out knowing that Chloe was close on his heels.

“Lex what was it? It was something to do with the film, right?” Chloe’s eyes showed her anxiety and worry about her friend but not enough to stem her persistent curiosity.

They went to the conservatory, fortunately finding it empty. A short while later, two hot cups of tea were brought to them as the rain poured down outside obscuring everything from view.

“I guess sometimes the past catches up with you whether you want it to or not. I haven’t spoken of these things for a long time, Chloe. Over 60 years” Lex mumbled as he emptied a sugar packet into his cup.

“Lex I’m your friend.”

Lex looked down briefly and then back up to the woman sitting opposite him.

“Did I ever tell you that I was a prison guard during the depression?” Lex asked her not sure if he had actually told her about it.

“You’ve mentioned it.” Chloe frowned at him wondering where this was going.

“Did I also happen to mention that I was in charge of death row? That I supervised all the executions?”

A look of surprise flitted across her face as she shook her head.

“They usually call death row the Last Mile, but we called ours the Green Mile, because the floor was the colour of faded limes. We had the electric chair then. Old Sparky, we called it.” Lex took a deep breath and ran his hand over his skull.

“I’ve lived a lot of years, Chloe, but 1935 takes the prize. That was the year the side effects came back to me, same symptoms I originally had when the meteors landed in Smallville. I was 9 years old then, that was what took my hair and changed my life. I could have just grown up as a rich kid letting daddy get him out of any situation. That was also the year of Clark Kent, and the two dead girls.”

Chloe could see Lex looking at her but she realised his mind had already gone back to the past, to 1935.

Chapter Two

1935

Lines of prisoners worked the fields, pickaxes raised and smashed to the ground. The guards sat astride their horses, rifles facing the sky, as they kept an eye on all of their ‘charges’.

An old prison truck bounced up and down, moving along the long dusty and bumpy road toward the prison.

Inside the toilet within the prison itself, Lex leaned over the sink splashing his face, taking a mouthful of water trying to get rid of the taste of vomit. He had never felt this sick in years, not in a very long time.

Bruce Wayne stared out of the entry door of the cellblock, through the viewing slot watching as the prison truck came to a halt in front of the building. Turning, he nodded to Dick Grayson, the young guard who just happened to be the man he had been seeing for a few years now.

Lex wiped his face dry and stared at his very pale reflection, at the large bags under his eyes turning purple and starting to look suspiciously like bruises.

“Lex?” Bruce called through the door.

“Christ, give me a minute.” Lex shouted back out, trying to control the sick feeling and the weakness that kept threatening to overtake him.

Bruce stared at the door looking worried; he had known Lex a long time, their whole lives in fact. Raising a hand to knock again, the door was pulled open.

“You should have taken the day off, gone to see the doctor.” Bruce said honestly.

“With a new arrival? You know better. Beside, it’s not as bad as it was.” Lex pasted a smile onto his face and watched as Bruce narrowed his eyes at him. It was a look of disbelief and Lex knew that his lie wasn’t working.

Bruce opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the honking of the prison truck as it sat waiting outside.

“New boy coming in, boss?” Jimmy Olsen asked as he wrapped his hands around the prison bars.

“Never you mind Jimmy. You just keep quiet.” Lex told the young man as he walked down the mile and took position by the empty cell.

Bruce headed back to the door and peered out of the slot once again. Lucas Luthor and Mr Toby, whom they just called by his surname climbed out the back of the truck, their faces held a look of amazement on them. That was when the Bruce saw the pair of feet, the long muscular legs clad in tight trousers, a small waist, muscular chest and arms and when the prisoner turned towards him, Bruce let out a breath he didn’t realise he was even holding.

“Lex? You might want to reconsider getting in the cell with this guy.”

Lex turned and looked at his friend. “Why?”

“Because you may ask us to let you stay locked up with him.” Bruce chuckled at the strange look he was getting.

“Can’t be any hotter that you.” Lex smirked.

Dick opened his mouth but before he could say anything, the door was flung open and daylight flooded the room giving them their first look at their newest guest.

Clark Kent.

Everything seemed to stop for Lex the moment he laid eyes on the young man - 6ft 4 and perfect. Green eyes darted around the mile, scared and nervous. High cheek bones and pouty kissable lips finished off his handsome face. Clark Kent had the face of an angel but obviously looks were deceiving because he was on death row.

“Dead man walking! Dead man walking here!” Lucas called out as he waved his baton.

Lex shook his head, still surprised that the two of them were brothers.

“Dead man walking! Dead man...”

“Lucas shut up that’s enough.” The bald man growled at his younger sibling.

Lucas stopped but glared back at his older brother.

“Are you sure you want to go in there with him?” Bruce asked.

“Are we going to have a problem young man?” Lex asked.

Clark shook his head slowly, watching the guards as they entered the cell - the place he was going to call home until they killed him.

Lex turned and glared at Lucas who was hitting his baton against the palm of his hand, the sound of leather on skin echoing down the corridor. It was obvious that he was waiting to use it on someone.

“Lucas. They’re moving house over in the infirmary. Why don’t you go and see if they could use some help?”

“They’ve got all the men they need.” The younger Luthor mumbled his eyes still on Clark looking him up and down, stripping off the young man’s clothes mentally.

“Why don’t you just go and make sure?” Lex waited and Lucas stayed where he was. “Look, I don’t care where you go, Lucas, as long as it is not here at this very moment.”

Lucas’ face flushed with anger, his fingers itched to touch that sun kissed skin. Shutting his mouth before he could say something he might regret, he turned and stalked up the mile where he noticed Jimmy at the bars smirking at him. Infuriated, Lucas swung his baton, smashing it down on the young man’s fingers. A loud crack broke the silence. Jimmy jerked back into his cell howling in pain.

“Owww he fucking busted my fingers!” Jimmy yelled out clutching his hurt fingers.

“Wipe that smug grin off your face you bastard.” Lucas raised his baton and hit it on the bars.

“Goddamn it, Lucas! Get the hell off my block.” Lex snarled.

“You’re block?” Lucas sneered before turning and swaggering out.

Jimmy was on his knees, bent over and protecting his injured hand.

“Fucking hell, that asshole, he busted my damn fingers.”

“We’ll get it looked at Jimmy. Now keep quiet liked I asked you to!”

Jimmy fell silent, but quiet moans still managed to escape from his lips.

Lex turned toward Clark who looked terrified after all the commotion.

“If I let Toby take off those chains, you gonna be nice?” Lex took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind of how nice this man could be to him.

Clark nodded; Toby walked into the cell and removed the shackles from the prisoner’s wrists and ankles.

“Your name is Clark Kent.”

“Yes sir, boss.” Clark replied, his voice deep and smooth.

“My name is Lex Luthor. If I’m not here, you can ask for Mr. Wayne, Mr. Grayson, or Mr Toby. Those gentlemen there.”

Clark held out his hand, his parents had always taught him manners. Lex hesitated for a moment, not out of fear for his safety, but fear that he could get addicted to touching this prisoner. Slowly he took hold of the younger man’s hand and shook it. It was a gentle hand shake but Lex could feel the barely restrained strength behind it.

As soon as Lex was out of the cell, Bruce slammed the cell door shut and locked it.

Clark sank slowly onto the cot, his hand clasped between his knees looking up at Lex, his voice soft.

“Couldn’t help it, boss. I tried to take it back, but it was too late.”

Chapter Three

Lex turned and led his men away back up the mile toward his office.

“Dick, run Jimmy up to the infirmary and see if his fingers are broken.”

“Of course they’re broken, I heard the damn bones crack. Goddamn Lucas.” Bruce growled.

“You hear what he was yelling as he led the prisoner in?” Toby asked the others.

Lex looked at the elder man, shaking his head ruefully. “How could I miss it? The whole prison heard.”

Bruce snorted at his friend’s answer, the tension breaking around them and slowly it forced smiles from the other two men.

“He might be your brother but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to have to answer for sending him off the Mile. He’s going to cause trouble over this, Lucas hates being in your shadow.” Bruce’s eyes narrowed at Lex but still showed of concern.

“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. Right now I wanna hear about the new inmate…aside from his looks, ok?” Lex looked at them.

“I bet under those clothes there is a hell of a body - if it wasn’t for Dick I would be tempted. Hell, I still am tempted.” Bruce laughed out loud.

“Yeah and if Dick found out that’d be your last time of ever having sex with anyone.” The bald guard grinned.

“But I bet it would be worth it.”

Lex finally stopped laughing. “He seems meek enough.”

Toby turned and stared out at nothing. “Meek or not, he deserves to fry for what he done. Here….” He tossed a pair of manila envelopes on the desk before Lex—Kent’s file. “…make your blood curdle and you sick to your stomach, it does.”

XXXXX

Lex finally made it out of the Mile and into the prison yard, where the sun was beating down but he didn’t notice. The wood bleachers were hard beneath him, the manila folders open on his knees, and slowly he began to read.

XXXXX

Whitney walked away from his house to the barn, a milking pail swinging in his hands. Grabbing the door he opened it and walked in.

“WHITNEY.” A woman’s scream shattered the silence into a million pieces.

Whitney rushed out of the barn dropping the pale, the milk soaking into the dirt, he ran as fast as he could toward his house. Bursting through the door he stared at his frantic wife.

“What? God sakes Lana, what?” Whitney growled angrily his eyes still full of panic.

“The girls! The girls are gone!” Lana sobbed dragging her husband through the house to a screened-off porch area.

“Dad look!” Howie said as he pointed.

Whitney froze stunned and horrified. His brain tried to make sense of what his eyes saw - blood splattered on the floor and the screen door hanging off its hinges…

“Oh my god.” He moaned as his heart sank, fear in his throat choking him.

Turning he walked back into the house, Lana fell to her knees sobbing incoherently. Whitney grabbed the shotgun shells and picked up the .22 rifle he had gotten for Christmas, which now seemed a lifetime ago.

“Goddam it, woman, get on the phone now! You tell ‘em we headed west! Are you listening to what I am saying! West.”

Lana clambered off her knees and stumbled through the house, grabbing for the phone watching as her husband and son disappeared towards the porch.

“Central! Central, are you on the line? Oh, god, please, somebody took my little girls,” Lana wept down the line, hoping and praying that they would be ok.

Whitney heard his wife on the phone, with a quick look at his son and a nod they followed the blood splatters across the yard. Soon they were joined by other men, also armed as they continued their search and it wasn’t long before he stopped. A little scrap of pale yellow fabric that was flapping in the wind, he turned and screamed.

“Oh, lord, this belongs to Katie...”

The men checked their weapons and reloaded where needed . Fear could be felt in the air, all of them afraid of what they would find. Whitney ran, the others following his lead towards the river.

They emergd from the treeline, an inhuman howl echoing around them. Slowly they moved closer to that awful sound…

They stopped, horror written across their features:

Clark Kent sat on the riverbank in bloody overalls, his huge feet splayed out. Howling, his face twisted in grief.

Curled in his arms were the naked bodies of Whitney’s 9 year-old twin girls, their blonde hair matted to their heads with blood.

Whitney’s eyes flashed with absolute hatred, he lunged down the riverbank in a headlong rush. Some of the other men tried to grab hold of him, but he managed to slip through their grasps, like smoke through fingers. He threw himself at Clark punching and kicking every available surface.

Some of the other men finally managed to drag him off Clark. Whitney fell to his knees, sobbing into his hands. Howie ran into his father’s arms, they hugged each other tightly overwhelmed with grief.

Clark looked up his eyes full of pain. “I couldn’t help it. I tried to take it back but it was too late.”

Whitney stared with disgust at Clark then spait in his face.

XXXXX

“Can I interrupt?” A voice said.

Lex looked up and found Warden Perry White standing before him.

“I’m just about done.” Lex closed the file and indicated for the other man to sit. “So how is that pretty gal of yours?”

“Lois is not doing well, Lex. Not well at all. She got laid up with another headache yesterday. Worst one yet. She’s also developed this weakness in her right hand.” Perry’s voice hitched ever so slightly, the older man forcing himself not to cry, not to think about the worst case scenario.

“Doctor still think its migraines?” Lex asked but knew by the look on the other man’s face what the answer was going to be.

Perry shook his head. “I’ll be taking her to get some tests in the next day or so. X-rays and the like. She is scared to death. Truth be told, so am I.”

Lex laid a hand on the other man’s shoulder. “If it’s something they can see with an x-ray, maybe it’s something they can fix.

“Maybe.” But Perry’s voice didn’t sound full of hope. Holding out his hand he gave a letter to Lex. “This just came in. D.O.E on Willowbrook.”

Lex glanced across and saw the man in question, scanning down the letter he nodded. “You didn’t come all the way down her just to hand me a D.O.E.”

“No. I had an angry call from the state capital about twenty minutes ago. Is it true that you ordered your brother off the block?”

“It is.”

“I’m sure you had reason and I know that you don’t get on with your father but like it or not Lucas does. Do I need to tell you how this lays out?” Perry asked staring into the silver-grey eyes of the prison guard.

“Baby brother called daddy and squealed like a schoolroom sissy. Did he also mention that this morning he assaulted a prisoner out of sheer petulance? Broke three fingers on Jimmy Olsen’s left hand.” Lex asked.

Perry glanced down at the floor and then back up. “I didn’t hear that part. I’m sure your father didn’t either.”

“I bet my father gave him a pat on the back for that little extra touch. Lucas is mean, careless and stupid. You know as well as I do, that is a bad combination in a place like this. Sooner or later he’s gonna get somebody hurt. Or worse.”

“You and Bruce Wayne will make sure that never happens.”

“Easy enough to say. We can’t watch him every minute, Perry.”

“Stick with it. May not be much longer. I have it on good authority that Lucas has an application in at Briar Ridge.”

“The mental hospital? You sure he isn’t going in as a patient?” Lex chuckled.

Perry managed to keep the smile off his face. “Administration job. Better pay.”

“Then why is he still here? He could get that application pushed through, hell with my father’s connections he could have any job in the state he wants. I’ll tell you what I think. I think he just wants to see one cook up close.”

Perry looked across at Willowbrook. “Well, he’ll get his chance then, won’t he? Maybe then he’ll be satisfied and move on. In the meantime, you’ll keep the peace.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you, Lex.”

Perry stood up, brushing the yard dust off his trousers.

“You give my love to Lois, ok? I bet that x-ray turns out to be nothing at all.”

Perry walked away his shoulders slumped as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Lex lifted the letter. “Date of execution.” He mumbled to himself.

XXXXX

Lex laid in his bed, alone; his stomach aching from all the times that he had been sick. He knew Bruce was worried about him, and had asked when he was going to see the doctor but Lex had lied, had told him that he was getting better. He also knew that Bruce didn’t believe him and at some point he was going to have to see about it.

XXXXX

Lex and Dick carefully performed maintenance on Old Sparky, cleaning the connectors, waxing the arms but they both stop as laughter drifted over to them.

“Lex? Dick?” Bruce called softly to them

The two other men walked over to him and followed his gaze down the Mile, they didn’t see anything. Lex and Dick both turned to Bruce at the same time, their faces full of confusion.

“He’s right there.” Bruce pointed.

Lex and Dick turn once again, and this time they see it: A tiny brown mouse coming up the Mile. It moved a short distance, peered right and then left, then moved quickly.

“It ain’t normal for a mouse to come up on people that way. Maybe it’s rabid.” Dick muttered his eyes not moving away from the tiny animal.

Bruce turned to him, disbelief written across his features. “Oh, my Christ. The big mouse expert. The Mouse Man. You can see it foaming at the mouth?”

Dick leaned forward slightly, his eyes narrowing as he stared. “I don’t see its mouth at all.”

Lex and Bruce started to laugh, Dick turned and glared at them. The mouse stopped near them and peered up. The three men fell silent, watching it, fascinated. Willowbrook woke up, then quietly sat up and watched.

Bruce tore off a piece of his sandwich and dropped it on the floor.

“Aw, Bruce, no! We’ll be hip-deep in mice around here.” Dick whined.

Bruce turned to Lex. “I just wanna see what he’ll do. In the interest of science.”

Lex shrugged his shoulders and continued to watch, the mouse grabbed the scrap, sat on his hind legs and started to nibble away. Once he finished the little creature turned and scurried back down the Mile, slipping underneath the door that led to the restraint room.
“He’s in the damn restraint room. You know he’s gonna be chewing the padding out of the walls and making himself a nice little nest.”

Bruce turned sheepishly towards Lex.

“All right let’s get the damn mouse.” Lex sighed as he strode down the corridor, the two other guards close behind him. Clark awoke watching what was going on.

“Saw a mouse go by.” Clark muttered rubbing his sleepy eyes, making sure that he hadn’t been seeing things.

Lex unlocked the door, pulling it open to reveal a padded room filled with storage: cleaning supplies, tables, chairs. Bruce shrugged of his jacket. Lex picked up a broom and handed it to Dick.

“Watch the door, and don’t let that mouse past you.”

Chapter Four

It took the two guards quite awhile to finally empty the room of all the junk that had accumulated. Lex and Bruce looked around and then turned to glare at Dick, who was standing in the doorway. The room was empty.

“You let him past you?” Lex muttered.

“No I didn’t.” Dick replied indignantly.

“Then where the hell is he?” Bruce asked knowing he had peered into every nook and cranny in that room. “Well, I’ll be damned, three grown men outsmarted by a mouse.”

“Bright side? All this commotion probably scared him off for good.” Dick grinned.

Lex nodded. “Yeah, that’s right. We won’t see him again.”

XXXXX

The following day Toby and Oliver Green sat at a desk, slowly making their way through a pile of paperwork. They both glanced up for a moment and shook their heads as Lucas admired himself in the mirror and brushed his hair.

Lucas heard a tiny squeak, he stopped combing his hair and paused for a moment, hearing it again he looked down and saw a little brown mouse.

“Well, look at that. There he is, I thought Bruce was pulling my leg.” Toby grinned.

A smile appeared on Oliver’s face. “That’s a goddamn mouse.”

Toby smiled. “Yeah Bruce said he was here last night begging for food, came right up to him. Give him some room Lucas.”

Toby dropped some bread on the floor and watched the mouse scarper up to it. Lucas stood there waiting before gently moving the baton more comfortably into his hand and launching at the mouse. The tiny creature ran down the Mile being chased by Lucas screaming at the top of his lungs, who missed the mouse as it barely escaped into the restraint room.

“Fuck!” Lucas mumbled as he fumbled with his keys, unlocking the door while still yelling and swearing at the mouse. “I’m gonna rip your deceased head off, you little piece of shit.”

Just then Lex and Bruce came in, panting, from running at the sound of all the screaming.

Toby looked up and smiled. “Lucas has met your mouse.”

Lex followed to where Toby was pointing and saw that at the far end, moving everything out of the restraint room onto the Mile, was Lucas.

“It’s in here somewhere! I’m gonna squish the little son of a bitch!”

Bruce sighed and walked forward. “Lucas, we already tried that—“

Lucas turned and glared at the other man.

“What did you say?”

“I said….”

Lex placed a hand on Bruce’s shoulder, trying to convey what he wanted through his eyes.

“Uh, knock yourself out. Hope you nail the bastard.” Bruce finished with a grin.

Lex crossed his arms and grinned, leaning back against the table as he waited.

XXXXX

Lucas finally hauled out a filing cabinet and the last of the junk that had cluttered the room. Looking around, the room was empty, empty of everything including a mouse. Lex and the other guards approached trying to keep straight faces.

“Damn. Ain’t in there huh? Don’t that beat the mousie band?”

Lucas looked around the restraint room, just checking to make sure that there was no mouse in there. The other guards turned to Lex waiting for him to speak.

“Lucas. You want to think about what you were doing just now?”

Lucas turned and glareed at his older brother. “I know what I was doing. Trying to get the mouse. You blind?”

“You also scared the crap out of me, Oliver and the inmates.” Toby added.

“So what? They aren’t in cradle school, case you didn’t notice.” Lucas turned to look at Lex. “Although you treat them that way half the time.”

Bruce shook his head. “We don’t scare ‘em any more that we have to, Lucas. They’re under enough strain as it is.”

Lex sighed “Men under strain can snap. Hurt themselves. Hurt others. That’s why our job is talking, not yelling. You’ll do better to think of this place like an intensive care ward in a hospital….”

“I think of it as a bucket of piss to drown rats in. That’s all. Anybody doesn’t like it can kiss my ass. How’s that sit?” Lucas smirked at the other guards and then gave a look of disgust to the other inmates.

Bruce stepped forward, his manner threatening. Lucas took an automatic step back, face full of fear but keeping his bravado up.

“Try it. You’ll be on the bread lines before the week is out.”

“We know who your connection is Lucas. He is my father as well but if you ever threaten anyone on this block again, we’re gonna have a go. Job be damned.”

“Big talk. You done.” Lucas stood there cocky.

“Get all this shit back in the restraint room you are cluttering up my Mile.” Lex turned away in disgust, the other guards following him leaving Lucas alone.

XXXXX

Lex appeared at Willowbrook’s bars with a group of guards.

“Kyla is here.”

Willowbrook stepped out of his cell and one of the guards escorted him off the block to see his daughter. As soon as he was out of their sight Lex turned to the others.

“Let’s move. I want at least two rehearsals before he gets back.”

XXXXX

Willowbrook walked into a room. Kyla rose slowly to her feet… raised her hand but paused awkwardly for a moment before touching his face, and then kissing his cheek. He reached out and took hold of her hand, gently placing a kiss there, while trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

XXXXX

Toot was sitting in Willowbrook’s cell.

“Sittin’ down, sittin’ down, rehearsing now! Everybody settle.” Toot called out.

Lex turned and looked at the old man. “Willowbrook, step forward.”

Toot sprang to his feet and stepped from the cell.

“I’m steppin’ forward, I’m stepping forward.” He turned and showed the top of his head to Dick.

“Is his head properly shaved?” Lex asked.

Dick took hold of a few hairs on Toots head and stared at it. “No, it’s dandruffy and smells.”

Lex shook his head. “I’ll take that for a yes. All right, Willowbrook, let’s go.”

Toot walked up the corridor ringed with guards.

“I’m walkin’ the Mile, I’m walkin’ the Mile.” As soon as they reach Lex’s inner office Toot threw himself to his knees. “I’m prayin’, I’m prayin’. The Lord is my shepherd, so on an’ so forth…”

“Toot, you have to wait till I tell you to pray.” Lex smiled slightly as he sees Toot waiting. “Okay, pray.”

“Still prayin’, still prayin’.”

Toby suddenly looked a little concerned. “Lex, we’re not gonna have some Cherokee medicine man in here whoopin’ and hollerin’ and shaking his dick, are we?”

“Well, actually…” Lex started to say until Toot interrupted him.

“Still prayin’, prayin’ getting’ right with Jesus.”

“Do it quietly, you old gink!” Toby slapped Toot on the head.

“As I was saying, I don’t believe they actually shake their dicks, Toby. Be that as it may, Mr Willowbrook is a Christian, so we got Reverend Schuster coming in.”

Dick nodded. “Oh, he’s good. Fast, too. Doesn’t get ‘em worked up.”

“On your feet, Toot. You’ve prayed enough for one day.” Lex told the man of the floor.

“Getting’ to my feet, walkin’ again, walkin’ on the Green Mile.”

As they entered the execution chamber, Bruce was standing waiting for them. Lucas peered out from behind the partition wall from the switch room.

“What do I do?” Lucas asked.

Lex sighed and turned to him. “Watch and learn.” He motioned for his brother to get back behind the wall. The sigh that Lucas let out could be heard echoing around the room and finally he stood next to Oliver and peered through the wire mesh watching as Toot plopped into Old Sparky, wriggling to try and get comfy.

“Sittin’ down, sittin’ down, takin’ a seat in Old Sparky’s lap.”

Lex and Dick knelt down to apply the ankle clamps. Bruce stepped in from the side, pressing down on the condemned man’s left arm trying to keep him in place until the ankle clamps were secure, Toby moved in from the other side, securing the right arm clamp.

“Getting’ clamped, getting clamped’ getting’ –oww, shit, watch the skin!”

Lex signaled to let everyone know that the ‘ankles are secure’. Bruce holstered his pistol, applying the final clamp to the left arm.

“Roll on one.” Bruce called out.

Behind the partition Oliver mimed turning the generator knob up, whispering as he did. “Roll on one means I turn the generator up fill. You’ll see the lights go brighter in half the prison.”

Bruce stepped in front of Toot. “Willowbrook, you have been condemned to die by a jury of your peers, sentence imposed by a judge of good standing in this state. Do you have anything to say before sentence is carried out?”

Toot grinned gleefully. “Yeah! I want a fried chicken dinner with gravy on the taters. I want to shit in your hat, and I got to have Mae West sit on my face, because I am one horny motherfucker!”

Bruce tried to stop the laughter but couldn’t, it wasn’t long before the others followed him, well all apart from one. Lex.

“Shut up, Bruce.” Lex ordered. “That goes for everybody. I want quiet in here,” he turned to Toot. “Toot, another remark like that, I’ll have Oliver roll on two for real.”

“Lex it was pretty funny.” Bruce told softly.

“That’s why I don’t like it. Tomorrow night we’re doing this for real. I don’t want somebody remembering a stupid joke like that and getting going again. Ever try not laughing in church once something funny gets stuck in your head? Same goddamn thing.”

“Sorry, Lex. You’re right. Let’s keep going. Toby...” Bruce looks slightly ashamed.

Toby took a black mask and tugged it down over Toot’s head, leaving only the crown of his head exposed. Bruce took a large round sponge, dipped it in a steel bucket, mimed soaking it..

Lucas looked on curiously. “What’s with the sponge?”

Oliver looked at him. “You soak it in brine, get it good and wet. Conducts the electricity directly to the brain, fast like a bullet. You don’t ever want to throw the switch on a man without that.”

Bruce placed the sponge on top of Toot’s head. Toby lowered the steel cap and Bruce secured the straps.

“Willowbrook, electricity shall now be passed through your body until you are dead, in accordance with the state law. God have mercy on your soul.” Bruce nodded to Oliver, “roll on two.”

Oliver reached out and mimed flipping the switch, then looked to Lucas. “And that’s that.”

Toot started bucking and flailing. “Now I’m fryin’! Fryin’! Gaaaah! Fryin’ like a done tom turkey!”

Lex rolled his eyes and looked at Bruce. Bruce shifted his gaze past his friend.

“One of the witnesses showed up a day early.” Bruce grinned.

Lex turned. Sitting on the door sill, watching them with tiny beady eyes, was the mouse. Lex turned back and addressed the room.

“All right, let’s go again and do it right this time! Get that idiot out of the chair.” Lex looked over at Toot.

XXXXX

The night after Willowbrook had seen his daughter, he was sitting in his cell having the top of his head shaved.

“You think if a man sincerely repents on what he done wrong, he might get to go back to the time that was the happiest for him and live there forever? Could that be what heaven is like?” He moved his eyes to look up at Lex.

“I just about believe that very thing.” Lex smiled at him and Willowbrook returns it.

“Had me a young wife when I was eighteen. Spent our first summer in the mountains. Made love every night. She’d just lie there after, bare-breasted in the firelight, and we’d talk sometimes until the sun came up. That was my best time.”

Bruce walked to the cell door, checked his pocket watch and nodded to Lex. Willowbrook took a deep breath to get himself ready.

Lex placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’ll be fine. You’ll do fine.”

Slowly they led him to the execution chamber, the sponge was sopping wet from the bucket of brine, dripping water across the floor. Bruce placed it atop Willowbrook’s head. Water cascaded down his face like a waterfall, finally pooling on the floor around his feet.

The cap was lowered, the straps secured. The only noise that could be heard was the prisoner’s breathing getting louder and faster underneath the black mask, until….

“Roll on two.” Bruce called out.

Oliver threw the switch. Willowbrook surged forward against the straps, the current running though him. Lex and Bruce stared at each other, nothing amusing about this at all.

Lucas watched through the mesh his eyes gleaming with excitement, wanting to be closer to see it. Oliver killed the current. Willowbrook goes limp in the chair as if he’d been a puppet and all his strings had been cut. A doctor moved in to check for a heartbeat, he shook his head.

“Again.” Bruce called out.

The switch was thrown again and once more Willowbrook surged forward until finally the beating of his heart stopped.

XXXXX

Willowbrook’s dead face stared up at them from the gurney, a hand reached down and gave his cheek a squeeze.

“Adios, Chief. Drop us a card from hell, let us know if it’s hot enough.”

Bruce knocked Lucas’ hand away and shoved him aside. “He’s paid what he’s owed. He’s square with the house again, so keep your goddamn hands off him.”

Slowly drawing the sheet over Willowbrook’s face, Bruce wheeled the gurney down the tunnel. Lucas threw a look to Lex.

“What’s up his ass?”

Lex shook his head. “You, Lucas. Always you.”

“You gotta hate the new boy? That they way it is around here?”

Lex stopped and turned to look at his brother. “Why not just move on? Go to Briar Ridge. Yeah, I know about it. Sounds like a good job.”

“I might take it, too. Soon as you put me out front.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I want Bruce’s spot for the next execution.”

Lex opened and closed his mouth. “What’s with you? Seeing a man die isn’t enough? You gotta be close enough to smell his nuts cook?”

“I wanna be out front, is all. Just one time. Then you’ll be rid of me.”

“If I say no?”

Lucas smirked. “I might just stick around for good, make a career of this.”

Lex shook his head and walked away.

XXXXX

Clark lay on his bunk, tears flowing from his eyes as the memories ran though his mind. A soft giggling hits him, he sits up and peered curiously through the bars.

“Jimmy?” Clark said softly.

Lex stopped writing the day log, paused for a moment, hearing nothing he went back to writing, the giggling hit him once more.

“Olsen? Is that you?”

Jimmy didn’t reply, there was just more giggling. Lex stood and walked down the Mile to Olsen’s cell and stopped, staring through the bars.

It’s not long before Bruce and Dick arrived and looked into the cell. Sitting there on Jimmy’s shoulder was the little mouse.

“Look! I done tame me dat mouse!” Jimmy looked over at them grinning.

Lex smiled. “We saw that.”

“Watch dis! Watch what he do!”

Jimmy stretched out his left arm. The mouse scampered up one arm, across his neck and back down the other. The guards just stood there staring.

“Ain’t he sumthin now? Ain’t Mr Jingles smart?”

Lex continued to watch. “?”

“Dat his name. He whisper it in my ear. Cap’n, can I have a box for my mouse so he can sleep in here wi’ me? Wanna see what else he can do? Watch, watch, watch.”

Jimmy put the mouse on the floor, grabbed a small wooded spool.

“We play fetch, ? We play fetch?”

Jimmy tossed the spool across the floor, bouncing it against the back wall. The mouse ran after it like a dog after a stick and proceeded to push it back to the bunk, rolling it with its front paws all the way to Jimmy’s feet.

“That’s some smart mouse, Jimmy. Like he’s a circus mouse or something.” Clark grinned watching them.

“A circus mouse! Dat just’ what he is too!” He picked up the spool and threw it watching chase after it again.”

Lucas walked over to see what was happening. “That the one I chased?”

Lex looked at his brother. “Yes, that’s the one. Jimmy says his name is Mr. Jingles.”

“Is that so?” Lucas smiled slightly.

Lex looked at Bruce and Dick wondering what Lucas was going to do.

“Jimmy was just asking for a box. Thinks he might keep it for a pet. What do you think?”

“We oughtta find a cigar box. Get some cotton. That should do real nice.” Lucas said nicely before walking away leaving confused looks on the rest of their faces.

XXXXX

Lex walked into the warden’s office to find Perry staring out of the window.

“Perry? You wanted to see me?”

“Yes Lex, come on in and close the door.”

“You know we’ve got a new prisoner coming in tomorrow, name of Morgan Edge. A real nasty piece of work….” Perry trailed off.

“Perry?” Lex looked at his friend worriedly.

“It’s a tumour, Lex. A brain tumour. It’s deep down inside where they can’t operate. I can’t tell my wife she going to die. I can’t bear the thought of it myself.” Perry sat down heavily in his chair and started to cry, the damn finally breaking and flowing from his eyes.

XXXXX

Lex laid in his bed staring at the ceiling thinking of Perry and Lois, a sharp pain from deep within his chest made him cry out in pain. Clambering at the sheet, he made it out of bed and to the bathroom just in time to vomit into the toilet. Tears falling from his eyes because of the excruciating pain.

XXXXX

An older, distinguished looking man was staring out of the window, wearing a hospital gown, his face utterly blank, drool dripping from his slack mouth in long strips. Lex waited by the cell, they were about to place him in. Morgan screamed, it sounding like a dog being tortured. He dropped his wrist-chain down over Dick’s head, jerking it back tightly and started to choke him. Lucas stood frozen to the spot. Lex pulled out his gun.

“Let him go. Hit him, Lucas! Goddamn it, hit him!”

Bruce rushed in pulling out his baton as he did, swinging it, he hit Morgan in the head. Dick’s legs gave way and he fell to the ground scrambling away as Morgan tried to grab hold of him. Bruce once again hit him and this time the prisoner hit the ground unconscious.

Bruce went quickly to Dick’s side gently rubbing the bruises that were already starting to appear on his neck.

“Breathe, that’s it, Dick take some deep breaths.”

“Bruce get Dick looked at right away, make sure he’s all right.” Lex nodded to his friend knowing that all Bruce wanted to do was pull Dick into his arms and kiss him. This should give them a few minutes to do that.

“Boss, come here.” Clark called out.

“Not now John.” Lex sighed rubbing his head across his face.

“Please boss, it’s important.”

Lex turned and walked over to the cell but before he could do anything one large hand grabbed him and pulled him close. Lex tried to grab his gun but Clark laid his free hand on the gun and slowly let it drift downwards finally covering Lex’s crotch.

“What are you…doing?” Lex breathed deeply trying not to be turned on by those large but gentle hands.

Electricity coursed through his body, his back arched, mouth wide open. The hand that had taken hold of Lex slid up his arm to cup the back of his head and pulled him back toward the bars. Clark lowered his head and kissed him, their mouths slanted, fitting perfectly with each other.

Tongues entangling with each other, Lex’s eyes closed, feeling that pouty mouth against his, the hand moving against his erection straining to break free. Energy seemed to pass from Clark to him, by hand and by mouth….then it was suddenly over and Lex felt cold as he came back to the real world, weak against the bars.

Lex realised that the permanent pain that he had been in was gone. His gaze landed on Clark as he heard coughing from the cell. Clark sat down on his bunk, gagging like a man with a chicken bone caught in his throat.

“Clark? Clark, what’s wrong?” Lex’s fumbled with keys to the lock, unsure if he should open the door. The young man’s coughing grew stronger and harsher.

Clark’s head reared back, his mouth opened and exhaled a cloud of what looked like tiny black insects. They swirled furiously in front of his face, turned white and disappeared. Lex stared stunned.

“What did you do? What did you do to me Clark?” Lex whispered softly.

Clark looked up his eyes wide and seemingly innocent. “I helped it. Didn’t I help it?”

“Yes, but how?”

“I just took it back, is all. Awful tired now, boss. Dog tired.” Clark laid down and faced the wall.

Lex just stared at that muscular back for a moment longer. Confused and stunned at what had happened. Breathing deeply, managing to control himself he turned and walked up the Mile.

XXXXX

Lex phoned Bruce early that morning, to let him know that he was off ill.

“Mr Small?” Lex called out to the man sitting out on the veranda.

“Yes and you would be?”

“Lex Luthor, I’m the E Block superintendent at Cold Mountain.”

“The Green Mile. I’ve heard of it. Lost a few clients your way.” Henry Small said with a smile.

“That’s why I’m here. I’d like to ask you about one of them.”

“Please sit. Which client? Now you got my curiosity aroused.”

“Clark Kent.” Lex replied quietly.

Henry looked at him for a moment. “Ah, Kent. He causing you problems?”

“No, very quiet, polite. Sometimes cried in the night. Other then that..”

“Cries, does he? Well, he’s got a lot to cry about, I’d say. You know what he did?” Henry watched as Lex nodded. “What exactly are you trying to find out? Satisfy my curiosity, I’ll see if I can satisfy yours.”

“Had he ever done something like this before?” Lex asked.

“No. But a man usually who does a thing like this has. Tried to backtrack his trail to find out but we couldn’t find anything. It’s like he dropped out of the sky.”

“So how do you explain that?”

Henry sighed. “I can’t.”

“He’s strange, but there doesn’t seem to be any real violence in him.”

“Ahhh you want to know if I think that he did it. That’s what you wanted to know isn’t it?” Henry smiled.

“Do you?” Lex had to know.

“He blurted out a confession then and there.”

“Yet, you defended him.”

“Everyone is entitled to a defense Mr. Luthor. But yes, I think he is guilty. Don’t doubt it.”

XXXXX

Lex arrived back at Cold Mountain, a covered wrapped item in his hand. Bruce glanced up and sniffed at the air.

“It’s not for you Bruce.”

Lex continued down the Mile, the smell bringing Jimmy to his bars, came out of his cigar box sniffing.

“Oh, oh my.” Jimmy muttered.

Lex arrived at Clark’s cell. Clark was on his bed facing the wall. His head came around, drawn by the aroma. He sat up, wiping the tears that had leaked from his eyes and looked at Lex.”

“I’m smelling me some cornbread.” Clark grinned.

Lex’s heart stopped at that smile, all he wanted to do was reach out and stroke that gorgeous face. He leaned forward so no one else could hear.

“I wanted to thank you.”

“Thank me for what?”

Lex gently touched his lips and then made a motion discreetly to his crotch.

“Ohhhh” Clark suddenly realising what the other man meant.

Lex handed the package through the bars to Clark. As soon as Clark reached for the item, he quickly ran his finger up and down Lex’s. Their eyes met, Lex couldn’t look away. This was the man he had been having fantasies about since he first arrived. Something must have shown on his face or in his eyes because Clark blushed and looked down at his feet.

“This all for me?” Clark smiled shyly as Lex nodded at him.

Jimmy pressed his face against the bars, staring longingly at Clark’s cell while crawled on his shoulders.

“Oh my. Clark, I can smell it from here. I surely can.”

Clark looked at Lex. “Can I give some to Jimmy?”

“It’s yours Clark. You can do what you want with it.”

Clark carefully scooped a big chunk of cornbread and held it out to Lex. “That’s for Jimmy and .”

Morgan walked the bars in his cell. “Hey! What about me? I’m going to get some too, ain’t I?”

Clark turned to Lex, leaned forward and whispered. “Do I have to?”

“It’s yours Clark. As I said you can do with it as you please.”

“Well. Fine. I think I’ll keep the rest, then.”

Clark smiled, a huge open smile. One that made him look like a kid, digging into a cookie jar with his fingers. Lex walked across the Mile to Jimmy’s cell, and handed over the food.

“Courtesy of the gentleman across the way.”

“Oh. Clark. So very fine of you. So very kind. t’ank you.”

“Wel’cm” Clark said with a mouthful of food.

“Hey what about me.” Morgan growled, his face getting redder as he was ignored.

XXXXX

The next day the sun was shining brightly again . Toby slowly made his way up the Mile, cell checking and jotting on his clipboard. He paused just for a moment outside Edge’s cell when a long stream of piss hit him on the leg. Toby jumped back stunned, while Morgan laughed manically hosing his aim wildly from side to side.

“Good shot, weren’t it?”

Bruce and Lex came running to see a flabbergasted Toby.

“Can you believe it, he pissed on me!”

Mogan grinned insanely. “Hey, d’jall like that? I’m currently cooking some turds t’go with it! Nice soft ones! I’ll have ‘em out t’yall tomorrow!”

Lex turned and looked at Bruce. “We’ve been looking to clear out the restraint room anyway.”

XXXXX

Morgan watched as a stream of guards walk past his cell with the items from the restraint room.

“Hey! Whassit now, movin’ day? Y’all wanna come in and dust a little? Y’can shine my knob for me while yer at it.” He paused as Lex and Bruce stepped closer to the bars. Lex held a canvas straitjacket, while Bruce pulled out his nightstick. He unlocked the cell and sidestepped, reavealing Toby who was pointing a hose.

The hose erupted, driving Morgan across the cell with bone-jarring force. Morgan collapsed in a heap. Bruce and Lex dragged him out of the cell and got the straitjacket on him. Slowly he came around as they drew the straps tighter and pulled him to his feet.

“C’mon Morgan. Little walky, walky.”

Morgan started to struggle as he saw where they were taking him.

“Oh, not in there, C’mon now, I’ll be good! Honest injun I will! No! No! Umhhhhh…urg..ah!”

Morgan dropped to the floor, bucking and jerking wildly, spewing drool. Toby’s eyes went wide.

“Holy Christ, he’s pitchin a fit.”

Lex reached down and unceremoniously started dragging Morgan kicking and writhing the rest of the way. “He’ll be fine boys. Trust me on this one.”

Bruce helped Lex toss Morgan into the padded room and slammed the door shut. Morgan stood, his face full of rage, he started throwing himself against the door, screaming at the top of his lungs.

“All I wanted me was a little cornbread, you mutherfuckers!”

XXXXX

They finally unlocked the restraint room the following day. Morgan looked up from the corner, pale and drained.

“I learnt my lesson. I’ll be good.”

It had been a slow day on the Mile as Bruce strolled down it doing the cell check. He walked past Morgan’s who was standing close to the bars. Bruce just shook his head and was about to walk away when Morgan slammed his fists against his own cheeks, propelling a disgusting spew of liquefied chocolate sludge into Bruce’s face. It wasn’t long before once again Morgan was dragged to the restraint room, kicking and screaming all the way. They tossed him in and slammed the door shut. Bruce still wiping the traces of sludge off.

XXXXX

Lex and Bruce appeared at Jimmy’s bars with Dick and Toby.

“Jimmy, grab your things. Big day for you and .” Lex said.

“Watchoo talkin’ bout?” Jimmy asked curiously.

“Important folks heard about your mouse, wanna see him perform. Not just guards either. One of them’s a politician all the way from the state capital, I believe.”

Jimmy swelled up with pride, picked up . Bruce led him up the Mile, Lex and the others at their heels. As soon as they were out of sight Toot walked out of Lex’s office where he had been hiding.

XXXXX

“Well?” Lex asked as Jimmy came back.

“They love ! They laugh and cheer, they clap their hands!”

Lucas shook his head in disgust as he made his way down the Mile, a little too close to Morgan’s cell. Hands shot and grabbed hold of him, pulling him closer to the bars.

“Ain’t you sweet. Soft. Like a girl. I’d ruther fuck your asshole than your sister’s pussy, I think.” Morgan whispered kissing Lucas’s ear, one had dropping to squeeze his crotch.

Lex pulled out his sidearm, taking aim. “Edge!”

Morgan let go, laughing, hands raised as he stepped back. Lucas darted across the Mile in terror cringing against the cell opposite, breathing so loud and fast it almost sounded like sobbing. Jimmy started laughing as he stared at Lucas’s crotch, where a dark stain had appeared.

“Shut up Jimmy.” Bruce muttered as he shoved him back in his cell.

Lex stepped to his brother, placing a hand on his shoulder. Lucas shook it off and glared at them.

“You talk about this to anyone and I’ll get you all fired. I swear to god.”

“What happens on the Mile, stays on the Mile. Always has.” Lex told him.

XXXXX

Bruce and Lex were standing around Jimmy’s cell trying to figure out what they could do with Mr. Jingles.

“How about Mouseville?” Bruce suddenly said.

“Mouseville?” Jimmy looked at him.

“Tourist attraction down in Florida. Tallahassee, I think. Isn’t that right Lex? Tallahasse?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Tallahassee. Just down the road apiece from the dog university.”

Bruce’s mouth twitched, but he managed to keep a straight face.

“You think they’d take ?” Bruce asked.

“Might. He’s pretty smart.”

“Like a circus? You have to pay?” Jimmy’s eyes shone with excitement. He tossed the spool a little too hard and it shot out of the cell, straight towards Lucas. ran after it.

“Lucas no.” Bruce started to say, but it was too late as Lucas stomped the heel of his heavy work shoe down on Mr Jingles. There was a soft snap as the mouse’s back broke.

Jimmy screamed in horror throwing himself at the bars, sobbing. Lucas looked at Bruce and Lex, smiling.

“Knew I’d get him sooner or later. Just a matter of time, really.” He turned and strolled up the Mile whistling.

“Give’m to me.” Clark said from his cell.

Lex picked up the little mouse gently and took it to Clark.

“What are you doing?” Bruce askeds.

Clark gently cupped the mouse in his large hands and all you could see was the tail hanging down the side of his hand.

“Please Clark, help him. Please help him.” Jimmy begged softly.

Toby and Dick joined the group. Everybody watching. Clark put his mouth to his cupped hands, inhaled sharply. There was a glow between his fingers. He raised his face, contorting it as he started making horrendous choking sounds in his throat.

“Oh, dear Jesus. The tail. Look at the tail.” Bruce whispered.

Their gazes slid to the tail in fascination. THhhhe he MMhe tail was no longer still, slowly it started to twitch, getting stronger and stronger. Clark continued to make the gagging sound, leaning his head back he exhaled and Lex watched another cloud of swirling black insects come from his nose and mouth. The other men watched, speechless, as the bugs turned white and disappeared.

Clark bent down, and opened his hand. bounded out his fingers through the bars, past the guards’ feet straight toward Jimmy who picked him up laughing.

Dick turned to Clark. “What did you do?”

“I helped Jimmy’s mouse. He’s a circus mouse. Goan live in a mouse city down in….down in..”

“Florida?” Bruce answered numbly.

“Boss, Lucas is bad. He mean. He step on Jimmy’s mouse.” Clark laids back on his bed. “I took it back though.”

“You guys back to your cribbage game. Bruce you’re with me.”

They headed up the Mile and through the door that leads to the execution chamber, where they find Lucas polishing Old Sparky’s arms.

“Don’t start in on me. It was just a mouse. Never belonged here in the first place.”

Lex watched him carefully, betraying nothing in his face. “The mouse was fine. Just fine. You’re no better at mouse-killing than anything else around here.”

“You expect me to believe that? I heard the goddamn crunch.”

Lucas stalked past them and back onto the Mile. Lex and Bruce waited, the silence heavy until Lucas reappeared.

“You switched them! You switched them somehow, you bastards!”

Bruce smirked at him. “I always keep a spare mouse in my wallet for occasions such as this.”

“You’re playing with me, the both of you! Just who the hell do you think you….”

Bruce grabbed him, slamming him bodily into the electric chair. Lex leaned forward, getting right into Lucas’ face.

“We’re the people you work with, Lucas, but not for long. I want your word.”

“My word?”

“I put you out front for Jimmy, you put in your transfer to Briar Ridge the next day.”

“What if I just call up a certain person and tell them you’re harassing me? Bullying me?”

“Go ahead. I promise you’ll leave your share of blood on the floor.” Lex promised.

“Over a mouse? You think anyone’s gonna give two shits?”

“No. But four men will swear you stood by while Morgan Edge tried to strangle Dick to death. About that people will care, Lucas. Especially daddy.” Lex’s eyes were cold.

“Thing like that goes in your work record. Work record can follow a man around a long, long time.” Bruce added his part.

Lucas looked from one man to another, knowing that he was trapped.

“I put you out front, you put in your transfer. That’s the deal.” Lex could see Lucas weighing it out in his mind. He nodded and tried to get up but Lex kepts him pinned and offered a hand. “You make a promise to a man, you shake his hand.”

Lucas hesitated but finally shook Lex’s hand.

XXXXX

“Take care of .”

Lex nodded and handed the mouse to Clark. “I promise.”

Jimmy looked at Lex and Bruce. “After, you take him down to Florida? To dat Mouseville.

“We’ll do it together, most likely. Maybe take a little vacation time.” Bruce smiled at Jimmy.

They all slowly walked down the Mile to the execution chamber. Lex gave Jimmy’s arm a reassuring squeeze, leading him forward to Old Sparky. The clamps were applied. The straps were drawn tight.

“Roll on one.” Lucas called out. The lights brightened. “Jimmy Olsen, you have been condemned to die by a jury of your peers, sentence imposed by a judge of good standing in this state. You have anything else to say before sentence is carried out?”

“I’m sorry for what I did.” Jimmy whispered.

Lex nodded to Toby who took the black mask from the back of the chair and rolled it down over Jimmy’s head, leaving the top of his shaved head exposed. Lucas took the sponge and bent down to the bucket of brine, pretended to dip the sponge in and soak it. He straightened up and placed it on top of Jimmy’s head, hiding it with his hands. The cape was lowered and tightened.

“Electricity shall now be passed through your body until you are dead, in accordance with state law. God have mercy on your soul. Roll on two.” Lucas called out.

Oliver flicked the switch, Jimmy rocked forward. Tendrils of smoke began to curl out from under the cap, a mixture of burning hair and sponge. Jimmy began twisting and jittering in the chair, his masked face snapping violently from side to side, his legs pistoning up and down in his restraints. Smoke started coming through the fabric of the mask as Jimmy was being cooked alive.

XXXXX

Lex and the others brought the stretcher down, laying the corpse on the gurney.

“I didn’t know the sponge was supposed to be wet…”

Bruce grabbed Lucas.

“Bruce, no!” Lex called out.

“What the hell happened?” Perry said as soon as he arrived.

“Lucas fucked up, Perry. Pure and simple.”

“Is that your official position?”

“Don’t you think it should be? He’ll be putting in a transfer request to Briar Ridge tomorrow. Moving on to bigger and better things. Isn’t that right Lucas?”

Lucas nodded his eyes wide with fear.

XXXXX

Lex sighed and he headed to Perry and Lois’ house, his heart breaking as he took in the sight of her, she was frail and wasting away.

Perry smiled at them “She’s having one of her good days. I thank

God for that.”

“What’s a bad day?” Lex asked.

“Sometimes she’s….not herself anymore. She swears.”

“Swears?”

“It just pops out, the most awful language you can imagine. She doesn’t even know she’s doing it. I didn’t know she’d ever heard words like that….and too hear her say them in her sweet voice.”

XXXXX

Lex looked around at his friends.

“You saw what Clark did with the mouse.”

All the chatter stopped as they turned to him.

“I could’a gone the rest of the day without you bringing that up.” Bruce muttered.

“I could’a gone the rest of the year.” Dick murmured.

“He did it to me too. Put his hands on me, I think he took away my illness.”

The men sat there absorbing this new information.

“So what does this have to do with us?” Bruce watched his friend warily, he knew deep down that whatever was said next he wasn’t going to like it.

“Lois White.”

“Lois White.” Realisation suddenly dawns on Bruce. “You think he could help her?”

“I don’t know.” Lex answered honestly.

Toby glanced around. “Hold on now. You’re talking about our jobs. Sneak a sick woman onto the cellblock?”

“Perry would never allow that. You know him, he wouldn’t believe something unless it fell on him.”

Bruce sighed. “So you’re talking about taking Clark Kent to her. That’s more that just our jobs Lex.”

Dick nodded. “Damn right. That’s prison time if we get caught.”

“Let’s not discuss this like it’s even an option. Bruce, help me out here.”

“I’m sure she is a fine woman.”

“The finest. What’s happening to her is an offence Bruce. To the eyes, the ears and the heart” Lex replied straight away. “I know this is a lot to ask.”

Toby ran a hand through his hair. “It is. Let’s not forget that Kent’s a murderer. What if he escapes? I’d hate losing my job or going to prison but I’d hate having a dead child on my conscience even more.”

“I don’t think that’ll happen….in fact, I don’t think he did it at all. I just can’t see God putting a gift like that in the hands of a man who would kill a child.”

“If he does try and escape we will have to take him down,” Bruce waited until he saw Lex’s nod. “So. Tell us what you have in mind.”

Chapter 5

Bruce pulled out a small jar from the cupboard and looked over at the man holding money in his hand.

“I was never here.” Bruce said quietly and waited for the man to nod before he left.

XXXXX

Dick and Toby sat at the duty desk playing cards. The tension was thick, with only the sound of cards slapping against the table as the seconds ticked by.

The door opened and in walked Lex and Bruce carrying cola.

“Fellas thirsty? Fresh out of the icebox.” Bruce grinned at them.

“Oh, thanks. That’s swell.” Dick grinned.

Toby licked his lips. “Yeah, it sure is hot in here.”

Bruce popped the caps off and handed out the cold drinks.

“Hey. Hey, I’m going get some ain’t I?” Morgan asked as he stood at the bars watching the guards drinking.

“My ass you get some too.” Bruce mumbled as he turned his back to the prisoner.

“You think he deserves any?” Lex asked.

Toby picked up the clipboard and his eyes skimmed down it. “Day report says he’s been okay.”

“Hell yeah I’ve behaved. C’mon.” Morgan whined.

Lex shrugged his shoulders. Bruce popped off the top of the bottle and handed it over to Lex who poured it into a tin cup, a cup with white morphine powder in the bottom of it.

Morgan grabbed hold of the cup as soon as it was within reach and gulped down the cold liquid quickly. The guards drank from the bottles pretending not to watch Edge’s cell. It wasn’t long before the prisoner became glassy-eyed, then keeling over onto his bunk.

“Anybody wants to back out, now’s the time. After this, there’s no turning back.” Lex whispered. “One more thing to deal with.”

They started making there way to Lex’s office, pushing the door open they found Lucas sitting on a chair reading a book. He looked up and stared at the three men.

“What’s this?” he demanded.

Lex pulled the canvas straitjacket from behind his back.

“Payback!”

Lucas jumped up and tried to escape through the execution chamber but Toby grabbed him and spun him back.

“Let go of me! Let go!” Lucas cried out.

“Settle down Lucas.” Lex said. “C’mon, stick out your arms like a good boy.”

“I won’t and you can’t make me.” Lucas whined.

Bruce stared at him for a moment his eyes cold. “You’re dead wrong about that you know.” He grabbed Lucas’s ears and twisted hard. “You gonna put your arms up? I’ll rip your ears off. Use em’ for tea caddies. You know I will and that’s only what I’ll start with. Do you wanna see how imaginative I can be?”

Lucas jerked his arms up before him. They got the straitjacket on him within seconds. The sound of tape ripping echoed around the room before it was slapped over Lucas’ mouth. They pushed him into the restraint room and slammed the door closed.

“One more time what do you say if somebody comes by?” Lex turned to Dick.

“Kent got upset, so we put him in the restraint room. If they hear any noise, they’ll think it’s him.”

“Good, good.” Lex made a move to walk away but a hand shot out and grabbed him.

“Bring him back to me.” Dick whispered softly as he looked at Bruce.

Bruce smiled, walked back and stroked Dick’s cheek softly. “We have to do this.” He waited for Dick to nod. “I love you, always remember that.” Bending his head, their mouths touched in a sweet kiss.

“I love you too.” Dick touched his mouth memorising the feel, the taste.

Lex placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll make sure he comes back to you.”

XXXXX

They slowly made their way to Perry’s house, the door opened and a shadow of a man holding a gun could be seen.

“Who they hell goes there at two-thirty in the goddamn morning?” Perry yelled.

“Perry, it’s us! It’s Lex.” Lex called out hoping that there wouldn’t be any shooting.

“Lex, what the hell are you doing here at this hour?” Perry lowered the gun and took a step forward.

“Perry? Who are you talking to, you fucking cocksucker?” Lois called out from the inside of the house.

“Perry trust me, I can’t explain this to you but please trust me?” Lex begged.

Perry lowered the gun and watched as if he were in a trance as Clark Kent walked past him into the house. He snapped out of it as soon as they started to walk up the stairs.

“Don’t you dare go up there! Don’t you do it.”

Clark turned around and looked down at Perry. “Boss, you just be quiet now and let me be.”

Lex watched as Clark continued up the stairs and opened the bedroom door. He moved quietly and sat on the end of the bed. Tears started to build up in Lois’ eyes.

“What’s your name?” Lois whispered.

“Clark Kent, ma’am.” Slowly he started to bend toward her. “Ma’am?”

“Yes, Clark Kent?”

“I can see it. I can see it.” Clark whispered still moving closer. “You be still now. You be so quiet and so still.” He brushed her forehead with his lips, the gentlest whisper of a kiss then moved his mouth down to hers.

A hot glowing light passed between them. The men watched in silence the scene before them. Clark continued to kiss Lois in a deep and mysterious way. It wasn’t long though before he finally raised his head and to reveal that Lois had become that beautiful woman that she used to be before the illness took hold and ravaged her body.

Clark regarded her raptly for a moment or two, then he started coughing violently. He turned away and dropped to his knees, hacking like a man in the last stages of tuberculosis.

Lex and his men waited, expecting Clark to spit out the ‘bugs’ but he didn’t. He just kept coughing, those deep, hard, awful coughs, barely finding time to snatch in the next breath of air.

Perry went to his wife’s side stunned.

Clark’s coughing grew worse. Bruce moved beside Clark and slapped his broad, spasming back.

“Clark! Sick it up! Cough ‘em out like you done before!” Bruce muttered.

Clark just kept retching, eyes watering from the strain, spit flying from his mouth.

“He’s choking! Whatever he sucked out of her, he’s choking on it!” Lex moved forward at the sound of fear from Bruce. Moving before Clark he placed a hand lovingly on the handsome face, stroking it.

“What’s going on?” Lois asked her voice filled with confusion. “The x-ray?”

“It was clear.” Lex muttered his pain filled eyes still staring at the young man before him, the man he was falling in love with.

Perry burst into tears; Lois sat up, comforting him. Her eyes drawn to Clark and Lex.

“Clark?” Lois whispered surprise in her voice that she knew his name. Pushing back the covers she started to rise but Perry tried to stop her.

“Lois, no.”

She pushed his hand gently aside. Perry watched in wonder as she stood up and took her first tentative step toward Clark, gazing up at him, touching his face.

“I dreamed of you. I dreamed you were wandering in the dark, and so was I. We found each other. We found each other in the dark.” Lois undid her necklace, and Clark lowered his head. She hung the delicate chain around his neck. “It’s a St. Christopher. I want you to have it, Mr Kent, and wear it. He’ll keep you safe. Please wear it for me.”

“Thank you, ma’am.” Clark whispered gently fingering the small pendant.

“Thank you, Clark.” Her arms went around his neck, hugging him tightly as if she might never let go.

XXXXX

Lex and the men managed to get Clark out the front door and toward the truck, helping as best they could.

“C’mon, Clark, stay on your feet. Please you can do it.” Lex begged his heart trapped in his throat.

Finally, they got him to the truck and helped him crawl into the back. Lex moved in after him and let Clark’s head lay in his lap as he stroked his fingers through the dark thick mane of hair.

XXXXX

Dean looked up and started babbling in relief to see their return. “Am I glad to see you? You were gone so long.”

Bruce sat watching the fear on Lex’s face knowing that whatever was going to happen to Clark was going to break his friend’s heart and it made him realise just how lucky he was. Dick let out a surprised gasp as Bruce held onto him tightly and kissed him passionately; Dick moaned and melted into his arms.

“Clark, we’re gonna set you on your bunk now. Ready?” Lex whispered.

Clark nodded and sat heavily on the bunk. He lowered his head, his breath rasping.

“Let’s deal with Lucas.” Toby muttered.

“We’ve just got to convince him to keep his mouth shut.” Bruce turned and looked at the restraint room.

They opened the door and Lucas sat there glaring back at them.

“I want to talk, not shout. I take the tape off, you gonna be calm?” Lex asked.

Lucas nodded. Lex took hold of the tape, preparing to yank.

“I was always told if you do it fast, it won’t hurt so much.” Bruce told them helpfully. Lex ripped off the tape and Lucas’s eyes watered with pain. “I guess they were wrong?”

“Get me out of this nut-coat.” Lucas demanded.

“In a minute.” Lex opened his mouth to start speaking again.

“Now! Now! Right n….”

Lex slapped him hard, knocking him sideways. Lucas looked up, blinking in surprise. Lex grabbed him, yanking him back up.

“You shut up and listen. You deserve to be punished for what you did to Jimmy. You’ll accept it like a man, or we’ll make you sorry you were ever born. We’ll tell people how you sabotaged Jimmy’s execution…”

“Sabotaged!” Lucas yelled.

“And how you pissed yourself like a frightened little girl. Yes, we’ll talk that’s a given but, Lucas mind me now…we’ll also see you beaten within an inch of your life.” Lucas blinked. “Let bygones be bygones. Nothing’s hurt so far but your pride and nobody need ever know that except the people in this room.

“What happens on the Mile stays on the Mile. Always has.” Bruce said softly.

“May I be let out of this coat now?” Lucas asked calmly. They unfastened it and he shrugged out trying to maintain his dignity. “My things?”

Lucas stood and headed out onto the Mile.

“He’s gonna talk.” Bruce sighed and watched as Lex nodded in agreement.

XXXXX

As Lucas neared Clark’s cell, a muscular arm grabbed him though the bars. His screams brought Lex and the others running from the restraint room. Clark’s face was pressed tightly between the metal rods. Lucas whacked him with his baton but Clark barely felt it. He curled his free hand around the back of Lucas’s head, pulling him closer.

The screams muffled as their mouths come together. Clark began exhaling as if he’d been holding his breath for hours. Lucas jerked like a fish on a hook but couldn’t break lose. The men jumped in trying to get Clark to release him.

The black ‘insects’ flew from Clark to Lucas, swirling into his mouth, up his nose and down his throat. Light bulbs exploded, Lucas’s baton dropped to the floor and then Clark released him, stepping back and rubbing at his mouth as if he’d tasted something bad.

Lucas was ashen grey; his expression blank as a sheet of paper, without a trace of awareness in his eyes.

The men were stunned. Lex raised his hand to Lucas’s face and snapped his fingers. Nothing. He tried again this time clapping loudly. Lucas reacted slightly, eyes fluttering, swaying a bit. He said nothing but turned and slowly walked back up the Mile, his movements vacant and disjointed. He came to a swaying stop at Morgan Edge’s cell and turned to look in.

Morgan slowly came around, groggily clutching at his head, looking up he saw Lucas.

“What’a you looking at, you limp noodle? You wanna kiss my ass or suck my dick?”

Lucas just stared at him vacantly, before pulling his gun and emptying it into Morgan. Edge took six rounds in the chest, reeling back across the cell. He hit the wall and slid down, leaving a smear, his face registering a final look of stunned surprise.

Lex and the others tackled Lucas bringing him down, wrestling the gun out of his hand.

Dick was almost weeping: “Oh god, oh god, no.”

Lucas was flat on his back, staring up at nothing. The black ‘bugs’ came drifting out of his nose and mouth, swirling in the air of his head turning white and disappearing.

“Why Morgan Edge?” Lex asked.

“I saw in his heart. I saw what Morgan Edge done. Saw plain as day. Can’t hide what’s in your heart.” Clark whispered.

“What? Saw what?” Lex wanted to know.

Clark reached out towards him, straining though the bars.

“Take my hand, boss. You see for yourself.”

“Lex, no!” Bruce called out.

Lex hesitated, torn between reason and Clark’s pleading eyes.

“My hand.” Clark whispered, pleading.

Lex couldn’t stop himself. He had to. Their hands came together. Lex lurched wildly as what seemed like a current passed between them.

“No…please…” Lex panted.

“Gots to, boss. Gots to give you a little bit of myself. A gift. A gift of what’s in me so you can see.”

XXXXX

The Fordham twins laughing and playing hopscotch in the dust under a late afternoon sun. A hand with a paint brush slopping bright red paint on the side of a barn. Cora skipping to the head of the hopscotch squares, turning and starting back, laughing in the sun.

The paint brush slopping more paint, dripping like blood. Lana’s voice clearly rings through the air to come and eat, supper’s ready. The girls finish their game, gathering their jump ropes from the dust, running across the yard. The little girls run past the man with the paintbrush who turns and smiles as they go by.

Morgan Edge.

The basket of biscuits are passed around the table. Morgan reaches out takes one and bites into it smiling as the little girls’ conversation flows around the table.

XXXXX

Lex screamed trying to pull away, trying to escape what he knew was to follow but Clark’s grip was to strong he can’t break free.

XXXXX

The porch door is kicked off its hinges just before dawn; Morgan looms in the doorway staring down at the sisters. Cora wakes, her scream is cut short as his fist punches her hard in the face.

Morgan standing over them, loving the smell of fear he can sense, the terror in their eyes. This was the biggest turn on of all.

“You love your sister? You make any noise, know what happens. I’ll kill her instead of you.” He turns to the other sister. “And if you make any noise, I’ll kill her.”

He drags the two tiny figures out into the coming dawn.

XXXXX

Clark let go of Lex’s hand. Lex was gasping back in the real world where his men were staring at him with wide eyes.

“You see now?” Clark asked and watched as Lex nodded. “That’s how it is ever’ day. That’s how it is all over the worl’...”

It didn’t take long for Perry to arrive, the police photographer was already there taking pictures and the guards were giving their statements.

“Well, I dunno, he just snapped, I guess.” Dick muttered quietly.

“Bastard grabbed him through the bars a few days back, scared the boy so bad he wet himself.” Bruce answered the officer’s question.

Perry turned and saw Lucas sitting handcuffed on the floor of the Mile, eyes glassier than Morgan Edge’s while two cops were trying to snap him out of it. A medic was raising Lucas’ eyelid with his thumb, shining a penlight and getting no reaction.

“I think this boy’s cheese slid of his cracker,” the medic muttered to himself.

Perry saw Lex and motioned him aside to talk to him privately.

“I’ll cover you as much as I can, even if it means my job, but I have to know does this have anything to do with what happened at my house.” Perry asked watching Lex carefully.

Lex looked at Perry in the eye and the lie came easily to his lips.

“No.”

XXXXX

Lucas was wheeled carefully into his room at Briar Ridge Mental Hospital, he was put next to the window and still there was no reaction from him whatever.

XXXXX

“You saw him. You actually saw Morgan Edge take those girls?” Bruce asked disbelief still evident in his voice.

“Their father hired him for a few days last spring, help repair the barn. Cheap labour, just another drifter,” Lex’s voice faded off.

“Only not.” Bruce felt sick to his stomach.

“Sick bastard came back a month later, just before dawn. Took the girls…did what he did.” Lex swallowed back down the bile. “Clark found them afterwards and tried to help. It was too late.”

“Clark’s an innocent man. What are we going to do?” Dick looked around at his friends.

“There’s no way out of this for you is there?” Bruce asked Lex.

“No. I’ve been thinking about it. Tell you the truth I’ve done some things in my life that I’m not proud of, but this is the first time I’ve ever felt in real danger of hell,” Lex choked out.

“Hell? Lex talk to him, talk to Clark. Find out what he wants?” Toby said as he stood up.

XXXXX

Clark looked up and saw Lex standing there.

“Hello boss.”

“Hello Clark.”

Bruce unlocked the cell and Lex entered.

“I guess you know we’re coming down to it now, another couple of days. Is there anything special you’d like for dinner that night? We can rustle you up most anything.”

“Meatloaf be nice. Mashed taters with gravy. Okra, maybe. I’s not picky.”

“What about a preacher? Someone you could say a little prayer with?” Lex asked.

“Don’t want no preacher. You can say a prayer, if you want, I guess.”

“Me?” Clark looked at him. “S’pose I could, if it came to that,” Lex fidgeted for a moment. “Clark I have to ask you something very important right now.”

“I know what you gonna say. You don’ have to say it,” Clark smiled a sweet smile at him giving Lex a way out.

“I do. I do have to. Clark, tell me what you want me to do. You want me to take you out of here? Just let you run away? See how far you can get?”

Clark glared at him. “Why would you do such a foolish thing?”

Lex hesitated, emotions swirling across his features trying to find the right words.

“On the day of my judgement, when I stand before God and He asks me why did I kill one of his true miracles, what am I gonna say? That it was my job? My job?”

“You tell God the Father it was a kindness you done,” Clark took hold of Lex’s hand, gently stroking his thumb to and fro across the other man’s knuckles.

“I know you hurtin’ and worryin’, I can feel it on you, but you oughtta quit on it now. Because I want it over and done. I do.”

Clark stroked the other hand across Lex’s cheek, letting his thumb swipe across Lex’s mouth.

“I’m tired, boss. Tired of bein’ on the road, lonely as a sparrow in the rain. Tired of not ever having me a buddy to be with, or tell me where we’s coming from or going to, or why. Mostly I’m tired of people being ugly to each other. I’m tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world ever’ day. There’s too much of it. It’s like pieces of glass in my head all the time. Can you understand?”

Lex blinked back the tears. “Yes, Clark. I think I can.”

“There must be something we can do for you, Clark. There must be something you want?” Bruce asked from the other side of the bars.

Clark looked at Lex and blushed. Lex bent his head forward trying not to think about them kissing, touching, their bodies wrapped around each other till their climaxes hit and they screamed out each others’ names in ecstasy.

Bruce laughed at the two of them. “Well, I don’t think we can arrange that.”

“Well I ain’t never seen me a flicker show.”

XXXXX

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced on a big screen, images flowing in a magical black and silver tone as Fred sang.

Heaven, I'm in heaven...and my

heart beats so that I can hardly

speak...

Lex sat and watched Clark who glanced back and smiled every so often.

“Why, they’s angels. Angels. Just like up in heaven.” Clark whispered in awe.

Fred and Ginger danced passionate and gracefully. Lex leaned over and whispered in Bruce’s ear who turned and nodded to him.

Bruce stood up and went over to Clark taking off his chains.

“Dance with me Clark?” Lex held out his hand.

Clark’s smile lit up the dark room, as he took hold of Lex’s hand and stood pulling Lex to him.

Lex wrapped his arm around Clark’s neck and felt strong arms wrap around his waist.

“Are you my angel, boss?”

“It’s Lex.” Lex pulled back and looked Clark in the eyes as they swayed together with the music, held together so tightly that not even light filtered through between them.

“Lex.” Clark whispered as he moved his head forward, their mouths touched, arms tightening around each other. Holding on, afraid to let go. The kiss started off slow, exploring each other, tasting, memorising.

It didn’t take long before it grew into something more passionate; hands roaming over each other, touching, caressing. Neither of them wanting to pull away, not wanting this to end.

Dick stood off to the side, held by the man he loved and watched the two men dance. Two men who had fallen in love with each other knowing that tomorrow they would not see each other ever again. Lex would have to stand by helplessly and watch the man he loved be electrocuted.

It made Dick realise just how lucky he was to have Bruce at his side. Tears fell from his eyes for the love that was about to end and he knew deep down that if Lex and Clark had been able to love each other a lifetime it would never have been enough, their love would have been the stuff of legends.

The guards just watched and felt their hearts break as the two men danced and kissed. No one made a sound, not wanting to break the spell.

XXXXX

Lex appeared at the bars with Bruce, Toby and Dick. They stood there quietly not saying a word. Clark knew that they were here, so he rose up as Bruce unlocked the cell and slid the door open. Clark stepped out, looked around at their dazed and sad faces.

“I be all right, fellas. This here’s the hard part. I be all right in a little while.”

Lex gestured at Clark, indicating the St Christopher medal around Clark’s neck.

“Clark, I should have that just for now. I’ll give it back after.”

“Lex I want you to have it, to remember me by.”

Tearfully, Lex removed the necklace and Clark gently placed it around Lex’s neck. “You know, I fell asleep and had me a dream. I dreamed about Jimmy’s mouse.”

“Did you Clark?”

“I dreamed he go down to that place that Boss Wayne talked about, the Mouseville place. I dreamed there was kids, and how they laughed at his tricks! My!” Clark laughed loud and freely, the laughter faded and his face had a serious look. “I dreamed that those two little blonde-headed girls were there. They was laughing too. I put my arms around ‘em and sat ‘em on my knees, and there was no blood and they was fine. We all watched Mr Jingles roll that spool, and how we did laugh. Fit to bus’, we was.”

Dick stifled a sob from behind them as they made their way to the execution chamber.

“Die slow, you bastard.” Lana called out.

Clark faltered as Lex and Bruce brought him to the chair.

“There’s a lot of folks here hate me. A lot. I can feel it. Like bees stinging me. It hurts.”

“Feel how we feel then. We don’t hate you, can you feel that?” Bruce whispered.

“Kill him twice, you boys! You go on and kill that raping baby-killer twice, that’d be fine!” Whitney yelled as he pulled his wife into his arms.

“Clark what do you feel when you think of me?” Lex whispered.

Clark closed his eyes for a moment, opened them and turned to stare into Lex’s eyes.

“Love, it’s love.”

Lex and Bruce turned Clark around and sat him down. He noticed Dick was crying, his back to the witnesses. They knelt to apply the leg clamps, while Bruce and Toby secured the arms.

“Wipe your face before you stand up Dick.”

Dick nodded, wiping his face with the sleeve of his coat. They rose, stepping back.

“Roll on one.” Lex called out, the lump in his throat almost choking him. The lights flared hotter and brighter.

“Clark Kent you have been condemned to die in the electric chair by a jury of your peers. Sentence imposed by a judge in good standing in this state. Do you have anything to say before sentence is carried out?”

“I’m sorry for what I am.” Clark whispered.

Lex’s heart clenched painfully in his chest as he watched Bruce take the mask from the hook to draw it over Clark’s head.

“Please boss, don’t put that thing over my face. Don’t put me in the dark. I don’t want the last thing I see is blackness I want it to be…” Clark stopped and looked at Lex.

“Love.” Lex whispered and nodded, straining to hold back tears.

The cap was taken away, the straps drawn. Clark was breathing fast, terrified, muttering under his breath but his eyes remained on Lex.

“Heaven, I’m in heaven, heaven, heaven.” Clark repeated over and over.

Oliver was poised at the switch waiting for the order to come. Lex was staring at the man he had fallen for unable to say the words, pain lodged in his chest.

“Lex. You have to say it. You have to give the order.” Bruce whispered.

Lex couldn’t. He reached out and touched Clark’s hand. Their fingers clasped. In that moment, staring into his eyes Lex heard the last thoughts that would ever go through Clark’s head.

“He kill ‘em with their love. That’s how it is ever’ day. All over the worl’. I always felt so alone, I never felt loved until you Lex. I will always be with you and will always love you.”

Their fingers disengaged. Lex stepped back, eyes still locked on Clark and he said the hardest words he’d ever spoken, words that broke his heart, words that took his love.

“Roll on two.”

Oliver threw the switch. Clark surged forward, fingers splayed and jittering. Lights began blowing out all over the Mile, raining shattered glass and sparks. Some of the witnesses screamed. Clark’s eyes were still locked on Lex’s, riding the lightning all the way. He finally slumped and Oliver killed the current.

Clark’s expression was peaceful, as if he were sleeping. A final pair of tears drifted gently down his cheeks.

XXXXX

Lex gently placed a kiss on Clark’s lips and then wheeled him down the tunnel. Lex drove home that night his heart numb. Once he got inside his home he finally broke, sliding to the floor sobbing as he stroked the medal around his neck.

XXXXX

“That was the last execution I ever took part in. Just couldn’t do it anymore after that. Bruce either. We both transferred out, took jobs with Boys’ Correctional. That was all right. Catch ‘em young that became my motto. Might even have done some good.”

Chloe sits opposite watching him carefully.

“You don’t believe me.”

“I don’t imagine you would lie to me Lex. It’s just that…”

“It’s quite a story.” Lex smiled at her.

“Yes, quiet a story.” Chloe paused for a moment. “In 1935 you were…..”

“The math doesn’t work, does it?”

Chloe shook her head.

“You feel up to a walk?”

XXXXX

Lex took Chloe along the wooded bath into view of the storage shacks.

“There. It’s in there.”

“Lex? This is what you wanted to show me?”

He offered his hand and she took it. They opened the door of the shack and walked in, where Lex touched her arm, directing her attention.

“There.”

Chloe moved closer and saw an old cigar box on the floor.

“Hey. Wake up, old boy. Wake up.”

A mouse poked his head out; his fur once brown is now all gray.

“Lex? It isn’t. It can’t be...”

Lex got down on the floor and held out his hand. “Come over here, boy. Come on over and see this lady.”

“This can’t be Mr Jingles.”

Lex said nothing, just pulled a spool from his pocket.

“Messieurs et Mesdames. Beinvenue au cirque de mousie.”

Lex tossed the spool; the mouse reached it, went around and started pushing it back to Lex.

“This isn’t exactly the Mouseville we had in mind, but we make do don’t we old fella.”

“But I.” Chloe stuttered for a moment and then stopped speaking.

“I think Mr Jingles happened by accident. I think when we electrocuted Jimmy and it all went so badly. Well, Clark could feel it and I think a tiny part of whatever was inside of him just leapt out. Me, I was no accident. Clark had to give me a little part of himself, a gift so I could see what Morgan Edge had done. When Clark did that, a part of whatever power worked through him spilled into me.”

“He infected you with life?”

“That’s as good as word as any. He infected us both, didn’t he, Mr Jingles, with life. I’m a hundred and five years old Chloe. I was forty the year that Clark Kent walked the Green Mile.”

“Oh my god.”

“I’ve watched my friends die and you, Chloe. You’ll die too and my curse is knowing I’ll be there to see it.”

XXXXX

Lex stood in a dark suit walking up to the open casket and inside was Chloe Sullivan.

“That’s my punishment, you see? My punishment for letting Clark Kent ride the lightning, for killing a miracle of God.” Lex laid a rose in the casket. “You’ll be gone like all the others and I’ll have to stay. I’ll die eventually when I have finally earned my redemption and when I do Clark will be waiting for me and we can finally can be together. I wish and pray for it everyday.”

XXXXX

Empty and silent. Young Lex walked the Mile alone, listening to the quiet. He paused, seeing something.

“Mr Jingles. Where have you been? I’ve been worried about you. You hungry?” Lex picked him up, turned and headed back up the Green Mile carrying the mouse in his hands.

XXXXX

Old Lex carrying Mr Jingles through the corridor of the nursing him holding the little mouse the same way he did over 60 years ago.

“I just want all of this to end.” Lex whispered to himself. “If you can live this long, how long will I live for?” He muttered to Mr Jingles who stared at him from the cigar box. He gasped as a ghostly image of a young Clark Kent stood there smiling, holding out his hand. “Maybe I’m not going to have to long to wait, to be with you,” Lex lied down and closed his eyes hoping that he wouldn’t wake up tomorrow.

THE END